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iOS 6 Adds Gay Emoticons But Lack Any Emotion

We’ve been hearing a lot about the recently launched iOS 6, but something we have just noticed, as discussed on Gizmodo, are the new emoticons, or “emojis” as many call them.

Another iOS 6 feature: Gay emoticons

These are icons used primarily in messaging. The new emojis in iOS 6 include icons of homosexual couples, both male and female. These sit next to the emojis that we already had of a heterosexual couple with a child, and holding hands. The new ‘gay’ emojis mimic the latter picture (see below).

It’s in Japan that emojis started and became popular, and the word itself comes from the japanese for ‘picture’ (a) and ‘letter’ (moji). These made their way across the waters worldwide, and Apple created an entire keyboard dedicated to them, primarily to compete with Japanese operators when they launched the iPhone in Japan but which are popular in all countries.

Gizmodo predicts the next set of emojis in iOS 7 to include gay and lesbian couples with children, like with the heterosexual couple, since it does look strange to have left them out. We are a little curious however as to why these same sex emojis are almost featureless, just with eyes, meaning they have no expression on their faces. After all, emojis are about expressing emotions.

Cecelia has the patience of a praying mantis. She spends the day sifting through press releases from all the major brand’s PR reps. From the most ridiculous announcements to those you really want to know more about, Cecelia makes it a point to skim through as many daily as possible so you won’t have to.